The democratization of technology via AI shifts the entrepreneurial goalpost. Instead of focusing on creating a handful of billion-dollar "unicorns," the more impactful ambition is to empower millions of people to each build a million-dollar "donkey corn" business, truly broadening economic opportunity.

Unlike private sector products that target specific demographics, government digital services must cater to an extremely diverse user base, including people with low income, no permanent address, and vast age differences. This necessitates a rigorous, non-assumptive approach to user research and accessibility from the outset.

The most effective government role in innovation is to act as a catalyst for high-risk, foundational R&D (like DARPA creating the internet). Once a technology is viable, the government should step aside to allow private sector competition (like SpaceX) to drive down costs and accelerate progress.

While consumer fintech gets the hype, the most systematically important opportunities lie in building 'utility services' that connect existing institutions. These complex, non-sexy infrastructure plays—like deposit networks—enable the entire ecosystem to function more efficiently, creating a deep moat by becoming critical financial market plumbing.

To serve both solo developers and large enterprises, GitHub focuses on creating horizontal "primitives" and APIs first. This foundational layer allows different user types to build their own specific workflows on top, avoiding the trap of creating a one-size-fits-none user experience.

In its largest user study, OpenAI's research team frames AI not just as a product but as a fundamental utility, stating its belief that "access to AI should be treated as a basic right." This perspective signals a long-term ambition for AI to become as integral to society as electricity or internet access.

The most profound innovations in history, like vaccines, PCs, and air travel, distributed value broadly to society rather than being captured by a few corporations. AI could follow this pattern, benefiting the public more than a handful of tech giants, especially with geopolitical pressures forcing commoditization.

In government, digital services are often viewed as IT projects delivered by contractors. A CPO's primary challenge is instilling a culture of product thinking: focusing on customer value, business outcomes, user research, and KPIs, often starting from a point of zero.